swap switches

I got a bee in my bonnet (they're baaaaack) and decided that we needed to change all the light switches in the house this weekend.  The original toggle switches were starting to pop here & there, the Mister replaced a couple, but since more were popping and I wanted some flat switches, we changed them.
This is not a small chore.
I think we had a total of 28 switches to change, including a couple of ceiling fan controls.  Out of these, the Mister took care of 7 switches, leaving the rest for me.  I love projects and had fun, kind of, doing this.  I especially liked getting to use the power drill and getting to show off my handy work.  My fingers are raw now, but at least I can avoid using them with the new fancy switches.
I may need a toolbelt.  I'm practically a licensed contractor now.

Single switch swap

New switch added

In place

Faceplate on

Three switch swap

The one on the far left is a 4-way switch, which means it controls the lights that 2 other switches control, too

Loose toggles

More wires to deal with

New switches

In place

Face plate on

Light switch and fan control before

Light switch and fan control after

28 switches, 17 face plates (there's a couple missing in this pic).  The messy table is chaos caused by the

Middle switch is also a fan control--now when we turn on the fan, it automatically goes to the favorite speed

Rough few days

The past few days have been icky in our home.
When I took the dogs for a walk Tuesday morning to the park, I didn't think it would cause any problems, but hindsight's 20/20 and all that....

Later that day, Lily was sick.  She threw up a couple of times.  I didn't think much of it because, well, sometimes dogs just have bile or something icky to get rid of.
Wednesday was calm.
Thursday she was sick again.  And Amber was scratching herself raw.  Tufts of hair appeared here and there as she scratched them off her belly.  Lily got sick again.
We called the vet, who told us to maybe feed Lily some chicken & rice and see if that settled her system or not.  And we could give Amber some Benadryl for her itches.
The Mister went off to the store for some chicken, I gave Amber a Benadryl, and the evening progressed calmly enough.  Lily thoroughly enjoyed her chicken & rice, we shaved Amber's belly so we could rub some cream on it (her belly is such a soft fuzz now!) and soon enough the Mister headed to bed.

A few minutes go by, and I'm shutting everything down, I notice our Kissing Gourami (Pinky) kissing a fish.  Of not the same species.
Well shiiiiiiit.
One of our little sharks (they don't have teeth, they're not carnivorous, no idea why they're called sharks) was laying against the intake for the filter.  Still alive.  Being "kissed" to death by Pinky.
I sprung into action--I'm channeling a superhero, ok?--and netted the little shark.  He was swimming upside down.  I googled that and most results suggested it was a swim bladder problem, caused by constipation.  So I kept him "quarantined" in the net overnight, sure the problem would resolve itself overnight.  And off to bed I went....

Only to be woken up at 4 AM to "shit!!" from the Mister.  Amber was throwing up.  And apparently had been at it for a bit, based on spots on the carpet.  He got up to clean up, make sure she was ok, and move out to the living room so she wouldn't be sick on the carpet anymore.  Lily felt guilty apparently, as she ran to her kennel as soon as the door opened.  She still doesn't know we don't get mad at them for being sick, unlike peeing in the house.

Since the Mister went to the living room, and didn't want Amber going back into the bedroom, that meant closing the door.  If I'm in the bedroom and Lily's out, she whines.  If we're both in, she whines.  I guess she has separation issues from both me and Amber.  So I joined the Mister on the couch (yay for sectionals!) and no more sick happened.
But the fish was dead when I woke up.  Damn it.
Amber went to the vet yesterday, where it was decided she likely got sick from the Benadryl, and now she's on antibiotics.
Got home, fed Lily more chicken and rice, which she scarfed down so fast it made her sick.  Again.
Out the door we go only to discover the cat had been sick as well.  The only critters not sick in our house are the Mister & me!
We're keeping everyone inside as much as possible because it's possible the heat is making the furkids sick.  Hallelujah for air conditioning.  And hardwood floors.  And the carpet cleaning I'm getting later this week.

the dirty

There are perils to living on an undeveloped block in an incomplete subdivision.  While I certainly enjoy the lack of neighbors, and their houses cutting into my view of the Bridgers, there are drawbacks to living thus.

There's dust.  Oh holy hell, is there dust.  It's not so bad in the winter, when everything's covered in white.  But come summer, the outside fields seem to come into my house.  They join the multitude of Golden Retriever fur clumps and have a little party on the floor.  In corners and under tables.  Right before my very eyes, it seems.

No matter how much I brush Amber, no matter how hard I try to keep the doors closed as much as possible, the outside is in.  And it's a pain in the ass to clean.  Every other day the Swiffer comes out to corral the floors into some order--and what looks to be a third Golden.  I wonder if I collected the fur a couple of times and used it as stuffing in a blanket, could it possibly replace goose down?  It's light, fluffy, abundant and fur.  Fur is used to keep critters warm.  I may be onto something here....

Not only is it on the floor, it somehow manages to take over the kitchen bar, dining table, and other flat surfaces--dressers, entertainment center, washer & dryer.  Dust. Is. Everywhere!  I can't escape it.  I need at least 6 hours notice before someone comes over so I can clean some more.  It doesn't matter if I cleaned last week or this morning, I can't get away from the dirty.

Sometimes I wish I could make everything waterproof and hose down the inside of the house on a regular basis.  Build the house on an angle so all the water & dirt follows a natural gravity and gets the hell out of my house.  I may be onto something here....

On a walk

It's almost fall here.  The temperature doesn't say so, but the grass does.  It's gone from vibrant, lush green to drab, crunchy straw.  The park's bug quota has dropped, thankfully.  Lots of water fowl in the ponds and dogs on the trails.  Amber and Lily are just happy to run through the long grass and feel free.  Their joy is contagious.  Walking by myself no longer holds any appeal--it's not nearly as giddy as when they run along in front of me, dip in the pond, sniff every new smell and look back at me occasionally to make sure I'm along for the ride.

On today's walk a new scent was mixed with the smell of pond, grass and trees.  Smoke is in the air.  After a long, wet spring, I was sure fire season would skip us again this year.  However, days and weeks of heat have dried out everything that was damp.  The area is likely to light up soon or just become covered in a thick blanket of smoke from other fires in the region.

I know we live in something of a suburbia bubble.  The town in which we live is growing with new families, old houses are being renovated and re-appreciated.  There are no "scary" neighborhoods I'd avoid.  The only people I try to steer clear of are tourists, if only because I'm likely to growl at them for passing along the word of how wonderful this place is.

It's so wonderful here that people come from other states to build their homes or second homes in the wildland-urban interface.  They love the feel of living in the wild...until the wildfires come.  Without the proper precautions, all they love about the wilderness becomes something to fear.  There isn't enough space between the trees and their house and it can all go up in smoke so quickly.
Suburbia may be a place of scorn and disgust for some, but at least I can feel a little reassured that my house, and neighborhood, isn't in a wild place it doesn't belong.

How I miss my MINI

I haven't driven in over a week.  It's killing me.  It's one thing to think about not having a car, it's a whole different story actually not having one.  The garage is empty, my right foot is twitchy and I had a dream last night of driving.  My new car isn't even being put together yet.  October, hurry up already!

An investment in being comfy

I had mixed feelings about this whole thing, and was actually looking into having solar panels installed to make myself feel less guilty.  Unfortunately, solar panels are ridonculously expensive and the payback in that investment would take for.ev.er.
So last summer we said no to solar panels.  And this year, I caved in to a central air conditioning unit.  It's an investment in the house, I know, and it'll be super duper to not sweat while sitting on the couch.  I have seen no other houses nearby with central air.  It's a very big luxury, way up here in the great white north.  In order to nullify my guilt, we didn't just get central air, we got a heat pump.  Now we'll save loads on heating in the winter, too.  hooray!
I'd post pics of the unit and the furnace, but really, who gives a shit?  Just imagine me lounging with a smile on my face.
We can finally get rid of the cabana boy who hand fed me grapes while fanning me with a palm frond.  I never really liked his banana hammock anyway.

Clicky the linky!

The view from the top of the Beartooth Mountains

Since blogger & facebook both shrunk my panoramic to a barely recognizable size, I had to go with this website so it can be viewed it all it's epic glory.  Enjoy!

350 miles....

...a mild sunburn and some itchy bites later...The 4th Annual MINIs on the Beartooth is successfully complete!  Last year I was unable to go because Nigel was in the chop shop getting all the dents from the hail storm taken care of.  And this year the rally was a great last trip for us to take.  Nigel's going to a new home in the near future and a new MINI Countryman will be ours sometime in October.  But that's for later.

Here's the pics from our trip yesterday:

Please click on any or all of them to view them at a larger size.

a grizzly bear!!!  My first real grizzly sighting!

The Bozeman/Western group

Joined by a Lewistown MINI

A couple of rearview mirror shots

the Beartooth Mountains from a distance--we were going to the top of those!

river outside Red Lodge (too lazy to look up the name)

The Red Lodge Lineup from the front

..and from the back

A MINI parade!  yay!

views from the lookout halfway up

absolutely gorgeous weather

MINIs looking out

Peace sign (last time it was a happy face)

the group shot

Near the top

Nigel's on the far left--Betty stood in for me :o)

MINIs on the Beartooth

MINIs, Mountains, and sky

Can I live there?

up, up, up we go!

Views from the top....

MINIs at the Top of the World (holy mosquito hell!)

More beautiful scenery

Main Street Red Lodge

oh, what a drive

I'm being followed...

by a herd of MINIs!

The first turn up the mountain

MINI people are wonderful people.  When they truly love their car, they love to share their motoring with other MINI people.  It was so nice to get a group together again this year and meet new owners, and old friends.  Can't wait to go again next year!